Where's The Face I Once Knew? Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Morn once again and time to rise,
I struggle to get up from bed
After late night and heavy head,
I still play good spouse and be nice.

My day begins with playing roles
The best I can— life is a stage,
Pleasing or not, pursuing goals,
As harder gets I hang on edge.

Rush to work where await new tasks,
And I spend one more thankless day,
Playing, pretending, wearing masks—
One each for the role I aught play.

Playing boss here or a colleague,
Work horse or an ideal team-mate,
Hide me hind a bare leaf of fig—
Marked still with a best-before date!

Evening, with friends in water holes,
As many faces as are masks,
Pretending, playing out odd roles—
As many roles as thankless tasks!

Home again, dying to relax,
The day's done but shows none its tail—
To parents a son I'm nigh lax,
To children, a hold-all to hell!

In bath at last, a cool shower,
A place-time with me to be true,
In front of familiar mirror,
But where's the face I once knew?
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Reflections | 04.05.14 |